Freight-car door



Jan. '21 1930. B. J. BASKERVILLE ,1

FREIGHT CAIDOOR Filed Dec. 1925 P! 2 2 fiufenm Patented Jan. 21, 1930UNITED STATES BENJAMIN J'. BASKERVILLE, OF JULIET, ILLINOIS FREIGHT-CARDOOR Application filed December 3, 1925.

The invention relates broadly to closures for freight cars andparticularly to closures used in box care, where the cars are carryingloose or bulk material such as grain, coal, etc.

Heretofore, the general practice in providing closures for car doorsadapted to carry grain or like material has been to take a plurality ofboards and to nail them on the inside of one or both edges of the dooropening; then when the car reaches its destination a ram is forcedagainst said boards breaking them adjacent the center and allowing thegrain or contents of the car to flow outwardly, at the same time forcingsaid closure out with the discharging grain. After a sufficient quantityof the contents has been discharged, the portions of the boardsremaining are pried loose from the car and any of the smaller particlesor chips that have been created by the breaking of the boards and leftin the grain have to be separated from the grain in any convenientmanner. In the prying of the individual boards loose from the inside ofthe opening of the car the closure is entirely destroyed thus making itnecessary to supply a new closure after each unloading.

One of the objects of the present invention is to obviate theseobjections by providing closure means wherein the boards or other meansconstituting theclosure are released along one edge of the door openingand are allowed to swing out under the weight of the contents of thecar; without necessitating the labor and time necessary to break theboards; without necessitating the complete destruction of the closure;and withoutthe possibility of slivers and chips of wood getting in thegrain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure for a car doorone end of which may be nailed within the car adjacent and projectingbeyond one edge of the opening, the other end of said closure beingprovided with means for holding said closure so positioned, that, uponreleasing of said holding Serial No. 72,922.

means the contents of the car will force the closure outwardly anddisengage the other end of the closure from the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guide for the closurethat can be operated from the outside of a car without interfering withthe conventional door provided on the outside of the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for locking theclosure guide and consequently the closure, and also for locking theguide out of the way of the door open ing when the closure is not in useso that the full width of the door may be utilized without obstruction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guide with a pluralityof webbed angles, arranged to engage the boards of the closure, the websbeing provided to hold the closure boards in the guide and to be readilyseparated therefrom as the guide is moved into releasing position forunloading.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure of he classdescribed that will in no way reduce the capacity of the car, that canbe used repeatedly and that will be simple and inexpensive to make, andeasy to opcrate.

The foregoin and such objects and advantages as may be pointed out orappear as this description proceeds are attained in the preferredembodiment illustrated in the clawings in which:

1 is a fragmental side .elevational view of a freight car with theclosure shown in operative position.

Fig; 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4.: of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of lockin mechanism which can be employed forthe closure holding means.

The conventional box car 10 has the usual side door opening 11 and asliding door (not shown in the drawing) arranged to cover it, a stop 12being provided at one side of the door opening to arrest the travel ofsaid door in one direction.

In the present invention the closure, designated 14 in its entirety,comprises a plurality of boards or planks 15 set on edge on the innerside of the door opening and so arranged one above the other that theyextend inwardly of the jamb rail or post 19 of the door opening for ashort distance, where they are secured by temporary nailing. The otherend of the closure extends substantially up to the opposite j amb railor post 21 of the opening 11 where it is held by a movable guide or holding element 22, which movable guide is arranged so that it may bedisengaged from the end of the closure leaving the contents of the carfree to force the closure outwardly. In so doing, if the closure endshave been nailed to the side 19 of the opening the force created by thedischarge of the material will free said boards which will pull thesmall. nails out, due to the leverage created by the closure.

The uide or holding means 22 comprises a flat p ate or bar 23 lying onthe inner side of the jamb rail or 0st 21 and extending up to a heightequal to the desired height of the closure 14. This plate or bar 23 hasa plurality of angles 24 secured thereto and so spaced relative to eachother as to engage each of the boards 15. A sharpened web 25 is providedin each of said angles in such a position that it ma be forced into theend of its associated boar to take the place of nailin It will beevident that these sharpened we s will quickly and easily releasethemselves from the ends of the boards when the guide or holding means22 is moved back to releasing position.

A sliding bar 27 is secured to the guide 22 in any convenient manner andextends laterally therefrom into a plurality of slides 28 secured to theinner side of the car wall. Anti-friction rolls 29 are provided in theslides so as to reduce the friction and make the guide easy ofoperation. An operating arm 31 extends from the bar 27 outwardly throughopenings 32 and 33 in the side of the car, to provide means foroperating said slide from the outside of the car. In opening the car andreleasing the closure 14 a crow bar 34 or any handy bar may be insertedbetween the operating arm 31 and the stop 12, pressure then beingapplied to the end of the crow bar to cause the sliding bar 24 to movelaterally, disengaging the webs 25 of the guide from the closure, and atthe same time drawing the guide out of engagement with the closure. Thecontents of the car will then immediately force the closure outwardlyand in the event that all of the nails in the opposite side of theclosure are not completely pulled out during this discharge of thecontents of the car, it is a simple matter to take a bar or similarinstrument and pry them loose.

It will be noted that the guide 22 is so arranged that when the car isbeing used for carrying other material than grain or like material suchas furniture, it may be slid out of the way and locked, then it will inno way interfere with the capacity of the car or the ability to use thefull width of the door opening for unloading.

If desired, means may be provided for locking the holding member 22against releasing movement, to prevent unauthorized opening or tamperingwith the closure. This locking means may consist of a locking bolt, suchas shown at 36 in Fig. 5, which bolt may be mounted on the inner side ofjamb rail 21 for dropping into a locking aperture in the upper end ofthe holding member 22.

It is not intended to be limited to the particular details herein shownand described, as it will be obvious that the foregoing is merely anexemplary embodiment of the invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a car having a door opening, of a closuretherefor arranged with one vertical edge lying against the inside of thedoor jamb at one side, the other vertical edge being arranged to swingoutwardly through the door opening; a transversely slidable abutmentarranged to engage said other edge of said closure to lock the sameagainst outward swinging; sharpened webs in said abutment arrangeddiagonally across the inner corners of said edge of said closure andarranged to engage the same and force said closure toward closingposition.

2. The combination with a car having a door opening, of a closuretherefor arranged with one vertical edge lying against the i11- side ofthe door jamb at one side, the other vertical edge being arrangedto'swing outwardly through the door opening, a transversely slidableplate arranged to engage in front of the free edge of said door to lockthe same against outward swinging, brackets on the inner side of saidslidable plate adjacent its edge, said brackets being adapted to abutand overlie the edge of said door; webs on said brackets arrangeddiagonally across the inner corners thereof and arranged to force saiddoor against the slidable plate, and means on said plate extending tothe outside of the car wall for manipulation of said plate into and outof engagement with the door.

3. The combination with a car having a door opening, of a closuretherefor arranged with one vertical edge lying against the inside of adoor amb at one side, the other vertical edge being arranged to swingoutwardly through the door opening, a transversely slidable platearranged to engage in front of the free edge of said closure to lock thesame against outward swinging, means on said plate adjacent its edgeadapted to abut and overlie the edge of said door, said means beingarranged to force said door against the slidable plate, and means onsaid plate eX- tending through an aperture in the car Wall formanipulation of said plate into and out of engagement With the door.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature at 301 Hunter Avenue, J oliet,Illinois.

BENJAMIN J. BASKERVILLE.

